Hi all,

Well, I've got the visa, its been validated, and now I've decided on a date to up sticks and leave. End of August I'm outta here.

Now I've made the decision I find myself overwhelmed by doubt, worry, a widdle bit of fear and strangest of all - a bit sad. I need to sell my car, motorbike, quit my job and ship all my personal belongings over -all on my own. My family are all overseas in various countries and there isn't anyone I can really rely on for help.

Also, I only have a little bit of stuff to ship... mountain bike, books, tv, stereo, kitchen stuff and a few other bits and pieces...
Who are the best company to use for small shipments? Anyone?

Any advice or good ideas on how best to organise things wouldn't go amiss. And someone to tell me I'm not nuts for feeling like this would be great too.

W. :scared:

Hello Wanderlust,

Good effort, doing it alone. That takes a bit of courage.

I can't really answer your questions, although I'd be interested in the answers that others are bound to provide. Like you, we'll have little to take with us. From my own investigations, you have a choice of using a baggage company as if it was excess baggage, or go the whole hog and ship it in a container (or part thereof). There's loads of adverts for baggage shippers in the back of TNT magazine if you can get hold of it (or try www.tntmagazine.com)

You're not nuts at all - just think of the freedom you will have to start a whole new life

Hi there!

SNAP! Am having exactly the same, having to sell house, do visa app, pack, sell car etc etc all on my own! Aaaaaahhh..... I haer you all say! In all seriousness it has been realy tough going it alone, my family also all live in either Switzerland or America. Most of my really god mates live miles away so have had no help at all - therefore you have my fullest sympathy!

I too am shipping a fairly small amount (sold most stuff at a huge loss ) - I shopped around a bit and in the end used dolphinmovers.com - were recommended and so far have been brilliant. Costs for shipping around 20 - 100 sq ft were fairly similar for most companies. I looked at allied pickfrods, bishops move and a few other likely candidates.

Well good luck with it all! With so many moving abroad wonder if there would be a good business opportunity for 'emigration assistants'??!!

All the best

ST

sorry to go a bit off thread here, but I found a couple of TNT mags I kept from my time in oz from 9 years ago!!!!!
interesting read........

There is also air freight, although this can be very expensive (but probably still cheaper than paying for an entire 20' container and only filling a little bit of it).

No, you're not mad in doing it alone, nor alone in doing it alone. There's ianj and scutteruk (off the top of my head) and probably many others. In fact you're quite courageous; I'm sure I would never have dared to do it alone.

Meant to say I am also going through this so you are not alone! I have just spent a week travelling the country saying my goodbyes etc - has been very bitter-sweet! Lovely to see everyone but also sad to say goodbye! However much they all say 'we will def come visit'...... I know for most of my friends it will be tough, they are all at the age of having kids so I know it would be really tough to plan a trip down under! Ah well.... means I'll have to pop back now and again to catch up!

Regards

ST

Most regular shippers will happily deal with smaller amounts. Instead of having your own container, you'll have a container shared with others. The shipment may take a little longer but will be a lot cheaper than having a container to yourself that you'll only partially fill.

Don't forget insurance to cover your risks during shipment.

Think carefully about what you should bring to Australia. Generally it's a good idea to get rid of junk and things that are impractical to take and use in Australia, but bring eveything else.

Usually you are exempt duty and GST on things owned for 12 months, but there may be special rules for certain things like motorbikes. Check http://www.customs.gov.au

In terms of what you've mentioned:

Car: usually best to sell, unless it's very special (all kinds of issues with spares, servicing and resale value in Australia).

Motorbike: Not quite as bulky to ship as a car. Investigate carefully the sale vs take argument.

TV: Check whether it will work in Australia.

Mountain Bike: Make sure it's properly cleaned (in common with any outdoor stuff you're taking). Customs are strict about this.

Also visit http://www.aqis.gov.au

Jeremy

A bit difficult to do this in advance, I think. But all the same, once you've got it there you can always buy a cheap VCR ($50-ish?) as a converter.

Do a search for sevenseas. I've had a few friends use them and they have come highly recommended for their service. I'm sending 6 boxes tomorrow with them, door to door, to Perth for about £350 (inl. insurance). The big boxes are £80 for the first one, then £40 for each subsequent box. While the smaller boxes work out at about £40/£20 as above. Bike boxes are £90. Each box can carry up to 40kg. So far I am impressed with them, but I guess time will tell when they are delivered at the other end.

From the searches I did these were by far the cheapest 'decent' company. Whatever you do don't go with 'Voovit', I've heard a lot of horror stories about them.

If you need any further info send me a PM.

hi Wanderlust

i've just been accused of posting under a different name because of youre post. I'm in exactly the same position, apart from i haven't got the visa yet but should do soon. I also have the motorbike car and shipping etc to sort out and also going through the same fears/doubts/worries/ups/down/positive/negative thoughts and feelings. By the way i'm hopefully flying out on 6th september if the house is sold by then!

as far as the shipping goes JAJ is correct (as always ) from what i've been reading. i've only looked at pickfords so far by they seem willing to take anything from a 40ft container to a box. so it shouldn't be hard to find someone to take my few bits.

like you i've haven't much to take just a few bits of furniture fridge, tv etc and i know it wont fill a full 20footer. still it'll be interesting to see how much it will cost.

anyway, if i can be of any help just give me a shout.

good luck!

Leigh

Hi all,

Thanks for all the responses! ST - so nice to hear of someone in the same boat as me.
Gosh - £80 a box!!! I read on some posts that people say 'take everything with you', but at £80 a box, you've got to wonder if its worth it! I mean - I've got tupperware, glasses, etc etc, which don't cost tuppence to replace - paying £80 to ship them doesnt seem to make sense. What do you think....only pack things of sentimental or monetary value? I'm guessing that's the way to go for me if I'm trying to save a bit of cash.

I will definitely follow up on all your suggested shippers to get some quotes...maybe I'd better start packing so I know how many boxes I'm taking....

Thanks all!

W.

My thoughts exactly...we're only taking the bare necessities. Clothes, photo albums, my precious (and necessary) books. Not taking crockery, or TV, or furniture. But we don't own a lot of anything anyway as we rent our furnished flat.

I have some quotes to take 100 sq feet approx. 30 - 35 boxes to melbourne, they range from £400 - £600 door to door inc. packing(Manchester - Melbourne) but not inc. insurance.

Hope this helps some

Darren & Rhian

Bryoak - who are the quotes with???

W.

The cheapest £400 was robbinsons and the most expensive was Pickfords, but they did seem more professional. The insurance was between 3 - 4%, which can add up. There is also a fee if customs want to inspect any of the boxes and this is per hour of inspection, i carnt remember the price of that but it wasnt excessive.

Darren